Different
by Goddess of Power
Summary: They're on the journey to find Paradise... still. When they stumble by a city that isnt on any maps, what will they find? *THIS IS A SIGN-UP STORY! SEND IN YOUR CHARACTERS TO BE IN THE STORY*
1. Application

Hey, this is actually a first for me. I'm not used to writing things about Wolf's Rain, I write for TDI, Twilight, and Weiss Cruez.

Well, I'm here to actually give YOU a shoot at being in this story I'm attempting to create. And yes, I do me that you can be in my story.

All you have to do is fill out the application that you see below and send it in as a review. BUT, I will only choose a selected few that I think are great characters.

So, what do you think about that? I actually think it's a great idea.

Okay, this story follows the four heroes', plus Blue and Cheza, on their journey to find Paradise. Then, they stumble upon a city that isn't on any maps. And… this city contains some weird scents.

* * * *

Okay, well, if you want to be in my story, please just fill out this application.

Thank you.

**Name (First and Last):**

**Age (Any):**

**Gender:**

**Species (It doesn't have to be a wolf! I'm doing mixed, like cats and stuff. So, any species you want.):**

**Personality (Be specific):**

**Looks (see below):**

**Hair:**

**Eyes:**

**Body (Scars, freckles, birthmarks, ect.):**

**Clothes (See below)-**

**Normal:**

**PJ's (What? It may come up…):**

**Formal (Okay… maybe.):**

**Swimsuit (I have no idea…):**

**Past:**

**Quote his/her sometimes says (Optional):**

**Do they want to be paired up with another person I select? (With what type of person if you do?):**

**Do you care what happens to you character? (I'm not saying that anything bad is going to happen, I'm just making sure.):**

* * * *

Okay, well, thank you for taking the time to read this. If I don't get enough characters, I'll just make some of my own.

Well, I'll update within two days if I get some reviews.

Well, until then, bye-bye!

SEND IN YOUR REVIEWS!


	2. Barrier

A/N: Well, this is awkward…. I've never actually written a Wolf's Rain story before. I just started the series today and I'm only on the 4th disk… but I haven't received it yet. So… don't ruin the ending for me.

Disclaimer: Why do people even put these here? We all know they aren't the owners.

Well, here's my attempt at writing for Wolf's Rain.

Hope you enjoy.

* * * *

"Can we rest yet? I'm starving over here!" Hige complained.

"No; we have a while until we reach the next city." Kiba answered.

The small pack-like group was still traveling through a thick, strange forest. They had been in this forest for a few days now and were getting quite aggravated.

"When will this stupid forest end?!" Tsume yelled and threw his hands in the air.

"This one likes the forest." Cheza said from behind the boy, where she and Blue were talking slightly. "It reminds me of home."

Then Hige stopped dead in his tracks. He sniffed the air and walked a little ways to the right. He then took off running in his wolf form.

"What are you doing, Porky?" Tsume asked as he and the others followed.

"I smell something!" Hige said. "And it smells really good!"

Just then, a light brown Lynx jumped out of a bush and started running as fast as it could. It made it's way out of the forest (which they didn't pay to much attention to) and ran at full speed through the barren field they ended up in.

"Get back here, you stupid cat!" Hige said, mostly to himself than anybody else.

The cat was now a ways away, it stopped and looked at the wolves, and Cheza, that were following it. It then took one more step, and it disappeared.

"What the…" Toboe whispered. "Where'd it go?"

"It was just there!" Hige cried. "I was this close to getting a tasty snack!" He said and went back to human form, along with the others.

"No, it's still there." Cheza said and started to run to where the Lynx had vanished. She then stuck her hand into the air, and her hand disappeared. She pulled her hand back and held onto it. "Something is here."

"Barrier?" Tsume asked and also went to investigate the mysterious… whatever it was. He also stuck his hand through it. "Yeah, it is." He confirmed.

"A barrier?" Toboe asked as he and the others did the same with their hands and stuck them through the barrier.

"But… what's it for?" Blue asked.

"Well, there's always a way to find out." Kiba smirked and ran through the barrier.

The others stood there and debated whether or not to follow the crazy teen.

"Well, I have nothing better to do." Tsume said and did the same.

The rest ran into the barrier.

A/N: I'm sorry, this is short and doesn't really say anything. Oh, and I'd like to notify my reviewers… you guys all made it in. BUT, I have too many wolves. Do you mind if I change at least 2 people's species?

Okay, well I'll be awaiting your reviews.

Until next time….


	3. Silly, Weirdo's

A/N: Wow… I have received quiet a few characters submitted, reviews and PM's. Sweet. Anyways, if you still want to be a person in this story, its still not to late. Anybody can send in reviews, even if I'm on the 10th chapter or even the 20th!

Well, I'd like to say that most of the characters fit together. And I'd also like to say this: "AWESOME characters you guys made up. This story is going to be RAD!"

Sorry, I get hyped up sometimes.

Well, lets continue.

Enjoy this chapter.

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"Nice going, Kiba." Tsume snarled. "You led us to a crappy city."

Once the gang had crossed the barrier that was in the barren field, they were led to an old city. The city was quiet and almost looked deserted, beside that fact that there were scents that life still held onto the city. Some of the buildings looked as if they were going to collapse, while others looked a bit newer than the others, but not by much. It was still able to support life; that was a good sign.

"Nobody is around it seems," Hige added. "Do you think they abandoned it recently?"

"Probably not, Porky." Tusme said and started to walk down the dirt road that ran into the middle of the city. "If they abandoned it, would they have left cherry pie on a window sill?" He asked and pointed to an open window that held a cooling pie.

Hige grunted and went into the city also.

Kiba was the last to move though; he was uncertain about this mysterious city beyond the barrier.

"Don't you guys think its weird?" He asked.

"What's weird?" Toboe asked.

"For one, the barrier. Why was there a barrier in the first place? Is there something the people of this town is hiding?" Kiba stated as he caught up with the others and walked slowly throughout the city.

There was a little giggle behind a shed as he said those things. The small group turned towards the sound. But, they didn't suspect it to be what rounded the corner.

"Silly, silly wolves." A little voice came.

The voice came from a small girl. She had long, shaggy, blonde hair and bright blue eyes. She wore a scratched-up pink dress and had gray ribbons tied around her bare feet.

"It's… a little girl." Blue said with a sound of relief.

"I'm not a little girl!" The blond yelled and stomped her feet. "My name is Mimi."

"Mimi," Cheza started and ran up to the girl to inspect her.

"Are there others in this city?" Kiba asked, more nasty-like than he should have been.

Mimi smiled and laughed. "Of course, silly. Why would little ol' me be here all alone?"

Hige started to walk the other way, sniffing the air. "Did you see a Lynx go by here by any chance?" He asked Mimi.

"A Lynx?" Mimi chuckled. "Why yes, I did. But, she doesn't like new comers."

"She?" Toboe asked. "You know that cat?"

Mimi blushed and started to run, more like skipping, around the small group and towards the small fountain that was situated in the middle of an open space in the street. Once she made it to the fountain, she turned back around to face the wolves (and Cheza).

"This city is strange," The little girl laughed and ran out of sight behind a building.

"Crazy little girl." Tsume spat and started down the street again. "This is lame, lets go back the way we came."

"No." Kiba simply said. "What if there's something here that can help us reach Paradise?"

Tsume didn't respond; he kept walking.

"Well, well, what do we have here? Wolves?" Another voice sounded.

The group looked up to see a man in is mid 20's leaning against a wall. He had dark brown hair that was covering most of the deep scar on his forehead. He had icy blue eyes that held a cold stare on the newly arrived group. He wore a white shirt with a black jacket; simple blue jeans to match with black shoes following.

"Great, another weirdo." Hige snorted.

"A weirdo, huh?" The man questioned. "In this city, don't be callin' anybody the weirdo's when you are equally as weird."

"How does everybody know we're wolves already?" Toboe asked from behind Tsume.

The man slightly smiled (although it was hard to see), and turned to walk away.

"The name's Christopher Fox. If I see ya guys again, call me Chris." And then, he walked behind a building.

"Why does everybody do that?!" Blue asked. "Some weird person shows up, then they say a few words, then they leave!"

"Keep walking." Kiba ordered.

They walked, again. They didn't have a point of destination; they just wanted to get through the strange city so they could continue on the quest.

Hige stopped in the middle of the street and sniffed the air (Blue had also ran into him when he stopped).

"The Lynx. I can smell it again." He said and started to jog down to road. But, at the end of the road, there was a girl.

This girl had really long, light brown hair with choppy bangs. She had bright green eyes and a small freckle under her right eye. She wore short, black shorts and a dull, forest green shirt. She had a scuffed-up orange scarf loosely hanging around her shoulders and brown boots on her feet with black/white striped socks going halfway up her calf. Around her neck was a collar with a bell on it.

She lifted her left hand, which bore black fingerless gloves, and pointed at the group.

"Leave my city the way you came, strangers." She spat at them.

"What the…" Hige asked with his eyes wide. "She's… a Lynx."

The group all stared at her with eyes wide and mouths agape.

"Told ya guys this city was strange." Mimi said as she appeared from behind the brunette.

"Never call people weird." Chris said as he also appeared from what seemed like nowhere.

Several other people were heard around them now.

A/N: AND, that's where I leave off at for now. Next chapter is where more of the OC's come in. I have only added… 3 OC's for now, none are mine.

How do you guys like it so far? I am trying to make your OC's to what you discribe them to be, but sometimes it gets hard. Sorry if I didn't do it right.

Well, until next time….


	4. Echo?

A/N: Man, I'm on a role tonight. I've written 2 chapters within just a few hours. I'm in the process of throwing myself a party at the moment; I'm so proud of myself right now.

Well, I'm going to add the rest of the OC's in this chapter, or close to all of them. Did I mention that your guys' OC's are awesome? Yeah, I think I did.

Anyways, if you guys have any ideas about where this story should go, go ahead and give me some ideas. Ideas are great; even though I have most of this story already planned out, ideas are ALWAYS needed.

Well, if some of my readers still want to send in a character, or another character if you already sent one, you still have a chance. I want anybody to submit a character; I don't care what chapter I'm on, just send in characters and I might add them in if I like them.

Okay, well, I'm going to stop my ranting and let you people read this chapter of 'Different.'

Enjoy.

* * * *

The brunette Lynx, in the form of a human, just continued to point at the group and repeat the same words over and over again.

"Leave my city. You're not welcomed here without Echo's permission."

"Who's Echo?" Toboe asked his friends.

"I have no idea." Kiba answered.

The small group was now able to see to people who were approaching them. They all made their way to the brunette Lynx. There were six new people.

"Eriko, stop it." Said one of the females that had long, jet-black hair. "You don't know if Echo allowed these people to cross the barrier; you haven't visited her in so long."

Eriko, the Lynx, let her hand fall down to her side as she sighed.

"Whatever." She said, rather irritated, and stalked off the other way. Chris and Mimi followed her lead and went after her.

The group was murmuring to themselves about what just happened when the remaining six people approached them.

"I'm very sorry about what just happened with Eriko. It's just that she's been under a lot of stress lately and we haven't received new comers since we were young kids." The black-haired girl said. "By the way, my name is Elizabeth Reed, but you can call me Liz."

Liz, as mentioned, had jet-black hair that fell below her shoulders. She had silver eyes that stood out from her other features. She wore a black, long-sleeved shirt with a sleeveless jean jacket over it that had the symbol for wolf on the back in Chinese. She wore faded, ripped jeans with patches on the knee and thigh along with black boots. Around her neck was a pendant that had the Chinese symbol for 'Shadow' on it. On her right hand, there were freckles that formed what looked like an arrow that pointed down towards her middle finger. On her left arm, there was a long, claw like scar that went to her wrist, to her shoulder.

Overall, Liz was very beautiful.

"Just kill them already," The only male in the group said.

"Stop it, Hail!" Said a female with short, light brown hair.

Hail, the only male left in the group since Chris left, had choppy brown hair with white bangs and blue-green eyes. He was wearing jeans and a simple green shirt under a gray jacket that was half-zipped up. There was also a red and blue necklace around his small neck.

The female that was yelling at him had short, light brown hair along with beautiful violet eyes. She wore a blood red spaghetti-strapped top with a white jacket over top of it. She also wore dark jeans with white boots, which were slightly dirty, over top.

"Be quiet, Sora." Hail shot back at the small female.

"Stop yelling!" A redhead shouted at the two who were bickering.

"Yeah, Maddy's right. Now is not the time to get mad at each other for stupid reasons." This time, it was a small female that looked around Toboe's age.

"Shippo, you're too young to even know what's going on!" Hail shouted, and then sighed. "Sorry, I'm just frustrated with some… things lately."

The redhead, Madeline (or Maddy), had one eye blue and the other green. She had freckles over the bridge of her nose and a small scar on her left arm. She wore a black skirt that ended around her knees, black leggings underneath, a deep green T-shirt with a picture of a butterfly on the front, and jean jacket, and ankle boots that laced up.

Shippo, the young female, had short, chocolate brown hair that was tied up into two ponytails. She had dull blue eyes with freckles over her nose and cheeks. She was wearing a bright purple hoodie over light colored jeans. Her foot-ware was a pair of black boots that were tied up to her knees.

Overall, she was pretty darn cute.

Then, the wolf group noticed that there was one female that was just looking from the sidelines. She wasn't saying anything, at all.

"Neru! What do you think?" Maddy asked the silent girl about a topic in which the group had lost interest.

Neru, the silent girl, had her deep brown hair pulled back into a neat bun with long strands hanging loosely in the front, covering her right eye. Her eyes were orange, but the orange faded to yellow outward from the pupil. She was rather short for her appearing age, which was around 17 or so. She had dark skin, like Blue. She had a scar beneath her left eye that started from the bridge of her nose and went to her ear. She wore a sleeveless, sand colored turtleneck that fell above her thighs. A gray jacket was worn over it, and that fell past her knees. Khaki pants and white sneakers followed.

She was very beautiful as well.

"Hey, new comers!" Maddy shouted. "Are you guys just going to stand there like idiots or are you going to introduce yourselves?"

"This one is named Cheza." The purple-haired girl smiled.

The others introduced themselves, one by one, to the weird group of people they had just met.

"Well, my name is Liz Reed, as I have already said."

"Umm… Neru Shun." The shy girl said quickly.

"I'm Shippo Ikeda." The youngest said.

"Madeline Summers, call me Maddy though." The redhead smiled and pointed to herself while talking.

"Sora Hoshi." The purple-eye girl simply said.

"Name? Hail Angel. Simple, sweet." The male said and started to walk away. He then, accidentally, ran into Sora. "Move it or die."

Sora, being the defensive girl she is, started ranting at the tall man.

"Sorry 'bout them, it's just been stressful around here lately since Echo's condition has gotten worse over the last few months." Liz sighed.

"Who the hell is Echo?" Tsume asked.

"Well, since we need to get some things straightened out, you need to go and meet her. So, today's your lucky day." She said and started walking down the road.

"You're supposed to follow her." Shippo giggled and skipped away to follow Liz and the others.

"What other choice do we have?" Blue asked.

"Choice?" Kiba raised his eyebrows. "This Echo person seems interesting; of course we have to meet her." He said and walked as well.

"All I wanted was a bite to eat, and my food turned into a pretty lady." Hige sighed and went after his friend.

Toboe and Blue followed them. Cheza instantly followed Kiba. Tsume on the other hand, he stood there wondering if this was even a good idea.

"What other choice do _I _have?" He asked himself and started to follow his friends. "_Déjà vu."_

_A/N: Man, this chapter was STILL short. Man! Well, as I start to really get into the story, the chapters will most likely get longer. Until then, just bare with me please._

_Well, please review; and don't forget, you can still send in characters._

_Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter; although, it was probably a little confusing._

_Well, until next time then…._


	5. Will You Stay?

A/N: Oh my gosh, I love all my reviews and readers so much right now! You guys are giving me awesome ideas and characters! I love you all!

Anyways, same ol' same ol. You know the routine, read, reviews, blah, blah, blah.

Well, hope you enjoy this chapter as much as the previous ones.

Enjoy!

* * * *

Kiba's pack-like group followed the weird people they had just met to an old, 3-story house that seemed to be an old coffee house at one time; perhaps it still was. The door was propped open with a small brick to let fresh air come in, along with its windows open. There were small, green bushes with pink flowers that grew along the sides of the house. There was also a small tune coming from inside, most likely a radio.

Cheza ran up to the flower bushes and smelt them. "This one doesn't know these. Their not family." She sighed.

"C'mon, lets go inside." Sora said and ran into the small house.

"I feel like a fricking dog, being led around like this." Tsume muttered. Hige was about to say something when Tsume shot back at him, "Don't you even dare say it, Porky!"

Hige sighed and went into the house, along with the others behind him.

When they entered the small coffee house, they were surprised to see that it looked like a normal living area; and it was bigger on the inside than what it led off to be on the outside. On two of the walls, there were long couches. There were a few chairs and footstools around the room. There were paintings and a few pictures on the walls, along with houseplants dangling from the ceiling. The room broke into a small kitchen area in one of the corners. There was a sink, fridge, cabinets, and a few cookbooks. A few lamps were also scattered about the huge room.

It was… normal.

"Well, this is our hang-out as you would call it, I guess." Maddy said and flopped down on one of the long couches.

"Cozy." Toboe smiled.

Kiba wondered over to one of the low hanging pictures that hung on the walls. It was a simple picture or an old lady with graying blonde hair. She was sitting in a wheel chair with a Lynx on her lap. There were many other animals surrounding her: such as a rabbit, a few wolves, a coyote, and a few others as well. The lady was very peaceful looking, with her joyful brown eyes.

"This lady… who is she?" Kiba asked.

Hail sighed and walked up behind him. "Echo," Was all her said while tracing the picture frame with his index finger. He went back to the kitchen area after a few seconds.

"Where _is_ Echo right now? We're supposed to meet her, right?" Hige asked from where he was standing beside the door.

"She's upstairs. She hasn't left this place in… years." Shippo said while looking down at her feet. "She's been really sick and barely remembers us most days."

"Her disease is called Alzheimer's, twerp." Hail called from the kitchen.

"Alzheimer's?" Hige asked.

"Yeah," Sora sighed. "One of the symptoms is long-term memory loss."

"Sometimes, she does remember who she is and who we are. But, most times, she thinks she is back in the past. She believes that she is younger and that all of us are young kids that are jumping rope and singing kiddy songs in the street." Liz sighed. "And lately, shes been getting worse."

"But then she remembered us this morning!" Shippo said with a great big smile. "I think it's because you guys came here."

"I think she's going to die soon, and that her life is flashing in front of her eyes." Hail snorted. "That's going to take a while; she's as old as the fricking Earth itself, even older maybe." He laughed.

Everybody glared at the male from where they were at in the room.

"We're supposed to meet her, so led us to her." Kiba demanded.

Then, the door that was in the very back of the room opened to reveal the same girl that demanded them to leave the city. Eriko, the lynx girl.

She was staring at the new comers as if they were helpless little bugs.

"Echo…" She started. "She wishes to see the new wolves that have managed to overcome her barrier." And with that, she went back through the open door and up the stairs that could be seen.

Then, two new girls came through the front door, trying to catch their breath.

"We heard that some wolves and the flower maiden made it across the barrier! Is it true?!" Asked one of the girls'.

This girl had reddish-brown hair that was pulled back into a neat ponytail and golden eyes that had black diamonds underneath. She was short and pretty skinny. She wore a black tank top with an oversized hoodie sweatshirt that said 'AXEL 8' on the back in red, and simple blue jeans and black boots followed.

"Oh, their here." Said the other. "Well, I guess it's true after all."

This girl had dirty blonde hair and golden eyes as well. She wore a pink spaghetti strap top with a purple butterfly on the front with a purple jacket on top that had a picture of a wolf on the back, a long blue skirt that ended above her knees, and blue knee high shoes. She had freckles over her cheeks and a locket around her neck. Then, there was a star shaped scar above the collar of her top.

"Thanks." Tsume said sarcastically.

"And you are…?" Hige asked.

"Axel Vigil." Said the first with the red-brown hair.

The second with blonde hair giggled and said, "Hi, my name is Lily Wolfe."

"What the heck, guys! You're supposed to come up stairs!" Said a voice that came from the stairs. Everybody turned to see Mimi, the little girl that they first met. "Echo is waiting for you."

Kiba turned to his pack and then to Liz.

"Don't worry, Echo is bed ridden, she won't bite."

"To hard." Hail whispered.

Cheza was the first to go up the stairs, followed by Blue and Kiba. The others eventually followed as well. Once they came to the landing, they saw Mimi and Chris standing outside of one of the many doors that lined the walls.

"Echo and Eriko are in this room." Chris said as he opened the door and stepped through, followed by the skipping Mimi.

One by one, the small pack walked through the doorway and lined up against the walls so they could all see what was going on.

In the middle of the room was a small bed that was covered with light blue and orange blankets. There was an old lady in the middle of the bed with graying blonde hair and brown eyes. She wore a long, gray nightgown with designs of different animals along the ends. She was playing with an old doll that was in her right hand, while holding the hand of Eriko in her left hand and whispering to her.

"My dear child… why have you grown cold over the last few days?" The old lady said in her raspy voice.

"Echo… I haven't, it's just that it's been a bit tiresome to look after the city without you to confine in." Eriko said with her high soprano voice. "I'm still the same, don't worry."

"Eriko, your name, it means 'child with a collar'… don't be that child." Echo said and patted the girls' hand. "This city doesn't have a collar around your neck, you can leave at anytime you want. Nobody is holding you here."

"But… if I leave, then nobody can take care of the city when you're gone." Eriko said while looking down at her feet. "And plus, you're the one who led all of us kids here in the first place; why would I leave?"

Echo just smiled and then turned to the new people who had entered the room. She closed her eyes and sighed.

"The children of the moon…"

Kiba and the others nodded and let her continue.

"You're looking for Paradise, no?" Echo asked. She received nods and she continued. "Everybody has their own outlook on Paradise,"

"What on earth is that supposed to mean?" Tsume asked.

"Everybody has his or her' own Paradise. You can't go looking for a Paradise that doesn't exist."

"What would you know about Paradise?" Kiba asked.

"I know that Paradise comes in many forms. It could be a busted down old city, a spot by an old fire place along with your loved ones, or it could be a special place at the dinner table seated next to your best friend." Echo smiled. "Everybody finds their own Paradise eventually."

"We're looking for our Paradise. It's going to be beautiful, with tons of lunar flowers and everything!" Toboe explained. "It's going to be wonderful."

"I see." Echo laughed. "Lunar flowers and everything."

"Echo… did you allow these people to cross the barrier?" Eriko asked.

"My child… why are you so upset that the city has received a few visitors?"

"Because, the last time we had 'visitors', most of the adults were killed off or taken."

Mimi, who sat in the corner, was talking to herself. "I wasn't even born when that happened,"

"Children, do not threat, those people are not going to hurt us no longer. The barrier are keeping all of the bad people from harming you and will continue to do so for all of eternity." Echo said before she started to cough. "These people who have entered the city today, they are one of us and won't hurt a single hair and any of your pretty little heads."

"I know their one of us; their animals just like most of us." Eriko said. "Their wolves."

"Their more than that, dear." Echo smiled. "They are young people who wish to live in Paradise and are seeking out a future. They remind me of your parents, Eriko."

Eriko stiffened at the word 'parents' and bolted out of the room and down the stairs.

"Ahh… bringing up the past wont do me any good, now will it?" Echo laughed at herself. "Children of the moon, I have allowed you to cross the barrier so you can rest for a few weeks until you can regain the energy you have lost since the beginning of your journey. Please, stay with us for a few weeks and learn of our ways of living here in this city. You might even learn to see the Paradise that we believe lives in this city."

"There's Paradise on this city?" Hige asked.

"Yes, of course dear." Echo laughed at the boy. "There is Paradise everywhere… just not your Paradise."

Mimi and Chris stood up from where they were sitting and went over to Echo.

"Echo, you need your rest." Chris said.

"Leave her to rest, please." Mimi said and walked out of the room after she gave Echo a small kiss on the cheek. Chris followed.

The others followed; Kiba was the last in the room.

"Child of the moon, will you stay for a few weeks and keep my children company and help them through my death?" Echo asked before Kiba left the room. "My death is coming closer, I can feel it."

Kiba was about to leave the room when he said, "I'll think about it." And with that, he left the room and went down stairs to where the others were gathered.

"I'm going to miss this Paradise." Echo smiled to herself and nodded off to sleep.

A/N: Well, this chapter was longer than the others. YAY! Okay, well, I need at least three more characters, maybe more. But these characters have to be smaller than all the others. They have to be around 6-10 or something. OH, and I want some more species! I need something other than canines and stuff. PLEASE!!

If you are sending in characters, somebody send my in a set of twins please. Twins that are like, the complete opposite or something. PLEASE!!

Well, until next time, farewell!

-Goddess of Power-


	6. Storm

A/N: There's a glitch… on site. Oh. My. Gosh. I am so mad right now, so I think I'm going to write another chapter. Ugg, this sucks because I had to review on something and then nobody can update his or her stories… so now I'm really bored and now I'm rambling again.

Well… please review and such. Oh, and I think I have enough girl characters right now… maybe a few more males though? Please send me in about 2 more males, I don't care what age they are, but they cant be canines please.

Okay, well, as I continue on my ranting about how I hate glitches and everything horrible that happens to technology now a days, you can read chapter 6 of 'Different.'

Oh, and some of the character's animal species are revealed during this chapter. And, I had to change a few species, so I'm really sorry if I changed your characters' species.

Enjoy. (And pray that the glitch is gone soon… although, once I post this, the glitch is going to be gone already… and this chapter is going to be a bit longer, so it's going to take a while… I'm going to shut up now before I confuse my readers anymore.)

* * * *

Kiba and the others made their way down the stairs and back into the front room with all of the people they had already met. Everybody except for Eriko, that is. They were all sitting on the couches, footstools, chairs, and some were even positioned on the floor. They were silent, while listening to the soft music that flowed from the radio that sat upon the windowsill.

"Why so quiet all of a sudden? I thought you people were the loud type." Tsume stated.

Neru looked up from the book she was reading and stared at the new comers. "We have our silent moments. We're also the thinking type of people, if you haven't noticed." She went back to her book after she spook.

As the Kiba's pack stood there, just watching as the city people sat in silence, another loud sound came from just outside the door.

"_C'mon, keep up the pace!"_ Said a small voice. _"I really want to see the weird visitors that Echo let through."_

Then, another voice that sounded close to the last spook. _"Maybe they already left… or maybe it was just a rumor and nobody actually came through the barrier in the first place."_

And then another, but this one was quieter. "_Umm… guys… are you sure that these visitors aren't going to hurt us?"_

The open door then revealed three young girls that look almost identical. They looked around the age of seven.

"Irin, Reiko, Sharuka; come in here and say hello to the visitors that you girls have been talking about. Very loudly, might I add." Liz chuckled.

One by one, the three girls made their way into the room and stared at Kiba's pack.

"Well… hi there! My name is Reiko Sapphire!" Said the one that stood in the middle. "We're all triples! I'm the middle child though."

Reiko, the 2nd born out of the three, was more like half and half between her older and younger sister. She had the left side of her hair white, while the other half was black. She had her right eye blue, and her left eye was green. She had a necklace that was half blue and green that spelt out her name. She wore a green shirt with a knee length blue skirt. She had a purple jacket over it with her name on it with a orange tiger with white stripes on the back.

"I'm Irin Sapphire. I'm the oldest." Said the first girl.

Irin, the 1st born, had long white half that was in pigtails. Her eyes were a stunning blue and matched the blue necklace around her neck that spelt her name. She wore a blue top with a knee length blue skirt. She also wore blue jacket with her name on the front and a white tiger on the back.

"Umm… my name is Sharuka Sapphire… and I'm the youngest of my sisters." Said the last.

Sharuka, the 3rd born, had long black hair and sparkling green eyes that matched her green necklace that said her name. She wore a green top with a knee length blue skirt. She also wore a green jacket with her name on the front and with an orange tiger with black stripes on the back. The right sleeve of her jacket was slipping off and it revealed that she had a tattoo of a wolf on her shoulder.

"Yeah, these are the twerps of the city; other than Shippo and Mimi that is." Hail laughed. "Although, Mimi does act older than her real age, doesn't she? She acts like shes 14 or something when in reality, she's only 8."

"Well, that's better than acting younger than their real age. You act like you're a fricking 5 year-old most times." Mimi shot back at the male who was now glaring at her.

Kiba and the others walked past the newly introduced triplets and out the door. They said that they were going to go look around before they decided whether or not if they were going to stay for a little bit.

They walked past a few kids on the street who were playing hopscotch and singing something about 'Mary-Mac.' They also pasted a few adults who were shopping in a few random stores. And, although there were lots of different animal scents in this new city, they could tell that a lot of the people here were also regular humans.

"So, what do you think about this weird city, Kiba?" Hige asked. "I mean, it's not normal."

"Weird? No. Unique. Yes." Kiba said. "We don't even know the name of this city and what purpose it has by being inhabited by all these animals. And most likely, I think the humans here know about it."

"_What do you mean?"_ A familiar voice sounded from behind them. _"I've been busy lately. Geez, I'm sorry I haven't been able to work this week."_

The small group turned to see Eriko and the manager of a fruit stand arguing about her work hours.

"_I'm very sorry, Eriko. But, I'm going to have to fire you."_ The manager said with a sad face.

Eriko, who didn't show any emotion on her face, walked behind into a small ally that was on the other side of the street without another word. Kiba and the others made their way to the ally to find that the girl had disappeared from sight.

"Okay, nobody can be gone that fast." Blue sighed and walked down the ally to the very end, where she saw that the other side contained a small patch of grass that covered the small hill. There were willow trees, cherry trees, apple trees, and many other kinds of plants on the said hill. On the very top of the hill, though, was a huge cherry tree that had light pink petals that were gently falling due to the light breeze that hung in the air. On one of the long hanging branches sat Eriko.

"That chick is really weird." Tsume said while Toboe laughed slightly.

"Yeah, but that chick knows more about this city than she's telling us. And if we are going to stay here, I want to know what's going on." Kiba said as he stalked his way to the tree.

"What do you guys want?" Eriko spat at them. "I'm not in the mood for gossiping with new comers."

"We want to talk to you about your city, that's all." Blue smiled at the girl. "What's the name of the city anyways?"

Eriko jumped out of the tree and stared at them for a few seconds until her gaze softened and she smiled a small smile for the first time since they had arrived. "Well, since I'm the nice, hyper, overactive, crazy person in the city, although I don't seem like it right now, I should tell you that it's not my city until Echo… dies." She looked down. "The city's name is 'Chiyo'. It means 'Thousand Years' or 'Eternal'."

"Pretty name for a pretty city." Cheza smiled.

"Why are there so many animals in this city? And do the humans know about you?" Tsume asked.

Eriko smiled again, flashing her shard canine teeth in the process. "Chiyo is a city were everybody can be free and treated as equals. We can roam here without being harmed and we can live normal lives." Then she added, "And yes, the humans do know about us animals. This was an all-animal city to begin with and the ancestors who made Chiyo wanted to share our home with others. The humans that live here don't care what you are, as long as you're not going to cause trouble."

"Why are you animals acting as humans in the first place? Wolves do it because we're supposed to be extinct, but you're a lynx and I could smell other animals when your friend introduced themselves." Hige asked.

"Well, we're acting as if we were wolves. Wolves can go around and be free without being hunted for game and food. They can have fun and talk with humans and drive vehicles. You can just be… free." Eriko sighed. "We wanted to be free too."

She smiled as the wind started to get a bit harder and blew her brown hair with the breeze.

"And… we wanted to be a little bit closer to Paradise."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"So… what do you think of these 'visitors'?" Hail asked as he sat on the couch next to Sora with a bowl of chips.

"I don't know. Their kind of weird and the one they call Kiba is way to serious for his own good." Sora sighed as she took a hand full of chips from the bowl.

The two were sitting in the same room where they were before Kiba and the others left. They were the only ones left there besides Mimi, who was now coloring on the small coffee table. The rest had all gone because they had things to take care of or were just plain bored just sitting there.

"So, you don't have anything to do?" Sora asked as she watched Mimi draw a butterfly on the white paper with a yellow crayon.

"Nope. I took care of all my errands yesterday and I don't feel like searching for Eriko. She needs space away from us, since she has been really stressed lately with Echo fading and her having to take over the city without her." Hail sighed.

"Wow, you can be sincere when you want to, cant you?" Sora grinned.

"Shut up, birdie." Hail grinned at the nickname he had given her as Sora blushed and turned to face the wall. "What? It's not like it was insulting." He mumbled through the chips in his mouth.

"It is when you use it as an insult! So, how 'bout you shut up, mutt!"

Hail choked on his chips when he heard the word 'mutt'.

"Oh, I am not a mutt."

"Yes you are. Half dog, half wolf; that's a mutt in my book." Sora said as she stuck her nose in the air.

"What book is that? The frickin' book of how to… to… be un-cool?! You're a worm eatin' bird that has no manners what so ever!" Hail stuttered to find any comebacks that he could actually use against her.

Sora then broke out laughing at his lame attempt at insulting her. "That was… lame; even for you." She giggled. "And plus, even though I may be a bird, I'm a very pretty bird and at least I know when my opinion isn't needed. And plus, I'm a hawk for your information!"

Mimi stood up from her coloring and glared at the two who were bickering. "Okay, lets get a few things straightened out before I go insane. Sora- you like Hail. Hail- you like Sora. Get over it!" She practically yelled at them and stormed through the front door where Neru was now walking through with a bag of groceries.

Sora and Hail just sat there, stunned from the sudden outburst.

"You know, if you guys keep your mouth's open like that, your faces will freeze like that." Neru said from the kitchen as she put the food in the proper places. "Mimi is right, though. It's pretty much obvious."

"We. Do. Not. Like. Each other." They called in unison and looked in the opposite direction from each other.

"What ever you say." Neru giggled as she danced across the kitchen to put a glass jar in the cabinet. Her hands slipped and the glass jar of raspberry jam fell to the ground and smashed into tiny little shards.

Neru looked at the wasted jam and sighed.

"That's not a good sign, now is it?"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"I think we should head back home, don't cha' think?" Axel asked.

She and Lily had headed out because they didn't like the atmosphere that had been left there after the new comers had left. They were walking through the city, looking for anything they could eat on their low money. Lily, who was skipping, was giggling as the breeze played with her long blonde hair.

"Nah, nobody is going to be there anyways. And plus, it's kind of boring just sitting there and doing nothin'." Lily answered.

Axel sighed and looked up at the brightly lit sky. It was the perfect sunny day, except the breeze that was getting stronger by the hour. Due to the barrier, the weather didn't show immediately to the ones who lived inside. If it were raining, nobody would know it until it actually started raining. The only ones who could predict the weather were the animals (and Echo) because of their strong noses.

"Smell anything?" Axel asked. Axel, due to being a human, couldn't predict like her friends could. She felt left out sometimes.

Lily stopped and sniffed the air a few times before grinning and looking at her friend. "Yeah! I think a storm is about twelve miles to the west. It could be here within another hour or so."

"Damn! That's one fast movin' storm."

Lily nodded and started her walking again. She, although she wouldn't admit it, was also wondering why a storm like that was moving so fast to begin with. She hadn't seen a storm that fast in a few years. But, she couldn't remember the storm all that well anymore. It was a fading memory.

"Hey, we better get moving if we want to dodge the rain in time." Axel suggested and received a nod from her friend.

They started to jog down the street towards home when they saw, through an ally way, Eriko and the new comers talking about something.

"Dang. Is Eriko actually smiling for a bunch of strangers? She doesn't even like it when somebody gets within a 5 mile radius of Chiyo, let alone somebody actually being let inside!" Axel was actually very surprised. Eriko smiled most of the time, but not for strangers.

"Maybe it's just bad gas," Lily snorted.

Axel held in the urge to laugh and continued to walk the rest of the way home. A gust of wind blew past the both of them and fluttered Lily's skirt, which she held down. They made it back home within a half an hour to see that Neru was standing outside, looking at the sky.

"Neru, you smell something?" Lily asked. Neru nodded without looking at the blonde and sniffed the air.

"I don't think this is a normal storm, do you?"

Lily nodded and went inside after she said that today was getting weirder by the second. Neru soon followed her lead, which left Axel outside wondering what was up with people today.

"Man, this sucks. Partly because I'm human and I have no idea what is going on. And another reason is because nobody is telling me anything." She mumbled to herself. "I could even tell you that today wasn't going to be normal; and I'm the human!"

She then went inside to where Hail, Neru, Sora, Lily, and Mimi (she came back soon after she left) sitting. They were listening to the weather report on the radio.

"There have been a number of deaths that have been reported after this mysterious storm pasted. Authorities don't have any clues that could lead to the criminals who could have done this, so to all of the cities in the storms pathway, steer cle-"

Hail pushed the power button to the radio and looked outside from the window. He could also smell something coming, but he couldn't put his tongue on it.

"Shouldn't there be more people her by now?" Maddy asked as she, Liz, and Shippo walked through the door.

"We're only missing…" Shippo started as she started to count the people in the room. "Chris, Sharuka, Irin, Reiko, Eriko, and those two twins that I haven't even seen all day!"

"The twins are wondering around here somewhere. They'll show up when they get hungry or when they start getting slammed on by hail." Liz said and walked up the stairs to check on Echo.

Irin, Reiko, and Sharuka showed up a few minutes later, complaining that Sharuka kept slipping and getting hurt. After that, Chris did show up, saying nothing at all as he walked into the kitchen and grabbed a soda from the fridge.

"Hey, you seen Eriko anywhere?" He asked after he gulped down the soda.

"Yeah, she was at the old cherry tree with the new comers." Lily answered as she and Axel played cards.

"HEY!" Called a small voice from the door.

Through the door came two little kids, around seven. They were the twins. One was female, as the other was male.

"Finally. Kai, Trix, where have you been?" Maddy asked from the couch, where she was lying and reading a magazine.

Kai, the female, was a cute little kid with violet hair and bright red eyes. She wore blue jeans with a plaid dark blue and orange skirt over them. A baby blue t-shirt and dark gray jacket was adorned also. She also had on a black wristband on her left arm with chains that formed an X. she also wore black boots.

Trix, the male, was actually his nickname. His real name was Bellatrix, but was rarely called that unless he was in trouble. He had bright red hair and violet eyes (opposite from his sister). Trix wore black jeans and a dark blue t-shirt with a gray angel wings on the back. His feet wore dark brown combat boots. He also wore a white wristband on his right arm that was the exact same as Kai's.

Overall, they were adorable little twins.

"Sorry, we had to take it slow because some of the humans are scrambling to take cover; the wind is so strong right now." Trix said as he strutted through the room and over to a small footstool.

Liz walked back into the room and looked around. "Does anybody know when Eriko is going to be back? That nasty storm is going to be here any minute now and we don't even know what it is. If she is out there flirting with those boys…"

Chris glared at the female. "Eriko doesn't flirt with anybody."

"Right, because she has you, right?" Sora asked with a smirk.

"Changing to subject to something less stupid; what are we going to do if this storm really isn't a storm?" Maddy asked.

"Well, we don't even know if the storm isn't a storm. It could just be a natural course of nature. And plus, we cant do anything without the consult of the leader of Chiyo." Liz sighed. "Echo is dieing and Eriko is nowhere to be seen. We have no other choice than to sit here and be patient." She said as she flopped down on a love seat.

They sat there in silence, waiting for anything to happen.

A/N: Yay! This chapter was actually MUCH longer than the others; be happy! Well, this kind of took a while to write since I have other things to do, sorry.

Well, this time, there are going to be some questions. Here they are:

Can you guess who the romances are? (There is more than one.)

So far, what characters' species do you know?

What do you think is going to happen with the storm?

Why do you think Eriko is all smiles all of a sudden? (And to strangers!!)

Well, I wont start the next chapter for a while, so until then…

Farewell.


	7. Fault

A/N: Well, I have been getting a whole lot of new characters lately and I'd like to say thank you to everybody who has contributed to the long list. Well, I'd also like to say that I don't need any more characters. At the beginning of this story, when I first started, I didn't think that I would get a lot of characters from you people, so I asked for tons of characters. Well, I finally don't need any more characters.

Okay, just to let you, the creators of the characters, know, I have changed some of the small details of the characters you have submitted. I have changed anything from small personality change to species change. I'm sorry if I have changed your character and you didn't want it to be changed; I'm trying to fit them all together. Since you have submitted your characters, you have given me full permission to do what I like with your characters, such as small changes.

Locket123- for your 2 characters, I'm also going to change a few things to the twins you have given me. I am going to use them, but probably won't be in this chapter. I am going to change their age, because they're way to young.

Anyways, I think I'm done ranting for right now…. Okay, well, I hope you like this 7th chapter of 'Different.'

Enjoy.

* * * *

Eriko looked up at the darkening sky. Her long hair was billowing in the wind that was rapidly picking up speed with each minute. She saw the sun being blocked by the storm clouds and gasped. Storms never came so fast in the city; not even once.

"We have to get out of here." She said to Kiba's pack. She had been talking with them next to the cherry tree for some time now and took no notice to the weather. "Come; we have to get back to Echo."

Eriko jogged around the group and through the alleyway in which they came through. Of course, the pack followed, mostly because they were foreign to the city. They jogged down the street, dodging the running humans and hopping over small obstacles. It didn't even take long before they could see the small house on the corner.

"Where have you been?" Chris asked. He had been standing outside, looking at the sky with worried eyes. "Do you have any idea how worried we've been?"

"No time," Eriko said quickly and ran into the building. She ran past her friends in the living area and up the stairs. The pack was still following.

"ECHO!" Eriko shouted as she made it to the top of the stairs and ran to the elderly woman's room.

When the room was reached, it was dark and dreary.

"Echo, something is happening and I think tha-" Eriko started but then was cut off by her shear surprise and shock.

"What is it?" Tsume asked as he and the others made their way into the room.

Eriko started to shake and her breathing began to stagger. She turned slightly to face the new comers with frightened, dead, green eyes. "Echo… she's…. gone."

And with that statement, they found out that Cheza and Blue were missing also.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Cheza, where are we going?" The blue-haired woman asked as she and the purple-haired girl walked further into the woods that surrounded the city (inside the barrier).

"This one feels something up ahead. Something important." She answered and continued to walk. "Something that this one needs to do… without Kiba."

It was true. Cheza had wondered off while the four boys ran after Eriko. Blue had spotted Cheza walking the other way and decided to follow. The boys would be fine without her for a bit.

They came upon an opening in the middle of the forest that held dozens of flowers and plants. So many colors and scents. In the middle, there was a small tree stump and was directly positioned under the open sky. But, the odd thing was that there was an old woman sitting upon it, looking up at the darkening sky.

"My, my…" Said the woman. "Looks like there will be some strange storm, huh?"

Cheza walked closer as Blue stood her distance.

"It's good to smell the fresh air; I haven't been able to in a long time." The woman said. "It's nice of you to join me, Flower Maiden."

"Echo… why have you left your bed? Your friends are worried; this one can tell that they are terribly worried." Cheza walked closer until she was directly behind the dieing keeper of Chiyo.

"Please, don't make me go back." She said in a rush. "I haven't been able to go anywhere in years and all I do is worry the children! I'm a mess."

Blue, who had been further back, now approached the two. "You're not a mess; you're just… ageing."

"Soon, I'll have to leave behind this city and hand it over to Eriko. She will be all alone with nobody to help her through these tough time; it seems I'm dieing at the worst time. She has no experience in this sort of thing. Things are going to be so hectic around here for a while."

Blue simply nodded as if she understood and sat down in the grass next to Echo. Cheza stood, still.

After a few minutes, Cheza broke the silence. "Can you tell this one something?"

"Yes, honey. Anything,"

"Why did you lure so many animals here in the first place?"

Echo's smile slowly faded as she thought. "Most of the children here had horrible pasts. Some were in zoos and some were tested on. Most don't have families to go back to and almost all of them wanted to die at one time or another. All of them were hurt emotionally, physically, or mentally. I had to do something about it… I couldn't just leave them to die or get captured."

"But what if they didn't want to be saved?" Blue asked.

Echo's smile returned to her wrinkled face. "Oh, no. I asked them if they wanted to live with me in Chiyo or not. All of them said they wanted too… besides a mere few who actually wanted to find their missing family. Eriko's family… they grew up here in Chiyo…"

"Eriko didn't have a miserable past like the others?"

"Oh, I said that her family grew up here, I never said that _she_ did. Her mom and dad- I rescued them many moons ago from some hunters. They had a love/hate relationship and didn't really get along. But, then, they grew on each other and eventually got married." Echo's smile got bigger. "After a few years, Eriko's mother, Chika, had managed to get pregnant for the first time. Her father, Yuki, was so happy that he literally skipped to me to tell me the great news!" She laughed.

"Was she born here in the city?" Cheza asked.

"Yes, she was. She was born right in my very own bedroom. But, later on, Chika and Yuki decided that they rather have Eriko raised the way they were- in the wild. They left after a full year of her being born.

"After about five years of their leaving, somebody came within reach of the barrier. I opened it up once I could smell the scent of blood. When I reached her, I knew who she was; she had Yuki's hair and face and Chika's eyes and smile. When I asked her what had happened, she told me that her family had been attacked by poachers and that the last thing her parents told her was get away and head to a city within a barrier- to use her nose to find it."

Blue sighed. "How horrible,"

"Did Chika and Yuki survive?"

"To this day, I have no idea if my long lost children are out there, living, breathing, looking for their beautiful daughter, and still madly in love with each other. But, instead of wondering if they're dead, I simply think of them when they were little and once they had gotten married. I swear on my life that Chiyo grew brighter once the wedding was over- and even brighter and cheery once Chika had Eriko in her arms."

"Fond memories are always good to remember," Cheza smiled and closed her eyes.

The wind started to rush around them once again; this time bringing a few rain drops.

"Do you know what this storm is all about? Everybody in the city seems very frantic about it." Blue asked.

Echo, who had been sitting on the tree stump, stood up and grabbed her walking cane. "This storm is nothing to fear… as long as the barrier lasts."

"Why is it different, though?" Cheza asked as she and Blue walked slowly beside the ageing woman.

"Because, nature didn't create this storm. Something… or someone created this storm. And, they're using it to cover up their murder path."

They were silent until they reached the end of the forest. Once they reached the outside of the tree line, Echo sighed and looked up towards the sky.

"God… I'm going to miss this."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Everything was so frantic back at the small house, now that everybody knew the Echo had somehow slipped out without them noticing. They all felt pathetic about having an old woman leave without knowing.

"This is all my fault- sorry guys." Eriko scolded herself again from the corner of the kitchen.

"It wasn't your fault. You weren't even here." Maddy said. "And get out of the corner. You're acting like a little girl."

"Where were you anyways?" Hail asked with his usual grin.

Eriko shot him a dirty look and sighed. "We should find Echo-"

"No!" Neru almost shouted.

Everybody turned to the sigh girl who was sitting on the couch without a single word. They were surprised that she actually yelled, not that she talked. She was usually a person who only talked when needed.

Neru stood up and placed her hands on the closed door- blocking the exit.

"Why not? We have to go find her! She could get hurt or maybe actually die out there without somebody with her!" Eriko pleaded while her friend shook her head.

"No. Echo needs some time alone right now. She hasn't been out of that bed in so long and she was probably feeling as if she needed to say goodbye to the city the proper way. Leave her be. She is a strong person- and you all know it! She took us all in as her children and the least you can do is let her have her freedom." Neru said with a stern face, still not moving from the door. "Plus, I know she's fine."

Liz asked how she knew, and that caused Neru's face to go a bright red.

"Well… I kind of… umm… saw her…"

"Get on with it!" Axel shouted.

"I SAW HER LEAVE AND SHE MADE ME PROMISE TO NOT TELL!" Neru shouted while covering her eyes with her long bangs and looking at the ground.

Eriko's mouth was agape and her eyes unmoving. "You're right, Neru. But, I have to," Was the last thing she said before she flung herself out of the kitchen window. She knew, even if she tried, she wouldn't be able to get around Neru to go out the door.

"God damnit!" Hail shouted and slammed his fist into the wall. This causing Sora to grab his reddening hand- trying to sooth the pain. "Why is everything happening now? Right when these… these… _wolfs_ show up?!" He pointed to Kiba and the others.

"This isn't our fault." Toboe whimpered. "I don't even know what's going on!"

"This isn't your fault." Maddy said and lifted herself off the chair she was sitting on. "If anything, it's Eriko's fault."

Everybody was shocked (except for Kiba, Hige, Tsume, and Toboe). Nobody ever blamed Eriko, their soon-to-be leader.

"Eriko needs to keep lookout on this city now. She needs to know what's happening. She needs to start acting like a leader- the leader she was born to be."

Everybody was silent.

Even though everything Maddy said was true, nobody ever blamed a leader. Ever.

A/N: So, this chapter is over now. Still short, but I didn't really have anything other to put here. Please review. And, repeating myself, I'm nto excepting any other characters as of right now. Sorry.

**Review and keep a lookout for the next chapter.**


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